The Birds

This is an Etsy mini of some of the offerings of one of my favorite Etsy sellers, MincingMockingBird. I love her bird paintings, and I wanted to share. Aren't they cute?!

I heard the first birds of spring this morning. It startled me, actually. We've been so steeped in cold, windy, wintery weather up here in the Northeast, that spring just seemed like something far in the offing. But then there I was in bed this morning, waking up slowly, and I heard them--the happy chirpings of the birds in my yard. I guess this means spring really IS going to happen this year!

So of course I went out and dug around under the leaves in my garden, and out popped the beginnings of crocus, daffodil, and tulip greenery. Yay! I think I can begin to emerge from my winter cocoon, shake off the winter doldrums, and get back out among the living again. I've really felt a bit like a shut-in this winter. It's time to embrace the fresh air and soak up some sunshine so I too can bloom.

Unprivate Again!

far left, second one down--it's so yummy!

Well, I tried to do the "invitation only" thing with my blog, due to an unwanted visitor, but then I couldn't even see my own blog! WTF?! I would say every third time or so, I couldn't load the page. So...I gave up on that plan. I'm now back for all to see! Sorry to all of you who waited for invites, etc. Hopefully I'm here to stay now. I can't let people get to me....just need to ignore, and get on with my life!

I'm headed to Albany with Kathleen today. I purchased some gorgeous blue silk charmeuse a couple of months ago to make a dress for her for a semi-formal dance that she'll be attending in May. I can't believe they have semi-formals in middle school. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing. Anyway, we've designed the dress, but we're headed to JoAnn Fabrics to see if we can find a basic pattern so I can size it properly...I'm really not a clothing maker. Window treatments are one thing...cool dresses for my kid are another thing altogether. We need to find some funky beaded/sequined trim or something for the neck area too. I'll have to scan our sketch for y'all so you can see if I even come close to it when actually making this thing....lol. It should be pretty amusing to watch.

Have a great weekend, all!

Nell Hill's Stylish Weddings

My book has arrived from Pat! Thanks so much, Pat. I can't believe I actually won something just for being a die-hard blog surfer! Yay Me! If you haven't already done so, please go visit my buddy Pat at Back Porch Musings. She's always up to something good! In fact, I think she's been working on her dining room this week, so head over for a look-see! Look how sweetly she wrapped the book for me!
This book is "Nell Hill's Stylish Weddings" by Mary Carol Garrity. And while I'm not planning a wedding, this book is chock full of lovely photographs of inspirational tablescapes, floral arrangements, and gift-wrapping ideas. I just love me some entertainment eye candy! You can visit Mary Carol's website for more inspiration at Nell Hill's.com as well, and visit one of her stores--I would LOVE to do that myself some day, if I can ever find a map out of NY. Heh.

In other news, Kathleen had her spring concert last week, and it was really great. She's in the chorus and the band. The band has shown HUGE improvement this year, and it's great to be able to witness their progress. They are going to be in a NYSSMA competition this year as well, and I think they'll do very well. I think they're finally motivated!

Kathleen will play her clarinet in a clarinet/flute duet with a friend at NYSSMA, and they will be rated on their performance. She'll also be singing a solo--"The Rainbow Connection" is her song of choice this year. Last year she got "outstanding" remarks and scores. I have no doubt that it'll be the same this year. The kid has some musical talent! I'm glad she got at least SOMEthing from her momma! :) Here is a fairly lame video of the chorus singing. I don't have a video camera--I just use my hand-held digital, so the quality is iffy. I didn't take a band video because I couldn't see her cute face this time! I was on the wrong side of the auditorium! BAD mommy! In the chorus, she's in the second row from the top, second kid in--right above the girl in the bright red dress.